Is owning a chin really what you expected?

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i stumbled upon chinchillas on CL when I was looking to adopt a new dog. When I looked at the ad, I couldn't believe how unbelievably cute they were!! I thought, where was this cuteness hiding all this time???!!! I couldn't believe how I didn't know anything about them.
I did, what I considered a decent amount of research and managed to persuade my parents into getting me Nana and Dango. Of course, they were soooo against it; they were after all "big, fat expensive rats that people make into coats"...

When I went to pick up Nana and Dango, I thought I was the perfect owner, I found out everything about them through some sites and the breeder I got them at....but oh boy was I wrong....from raisins, to plastic, to bad dust, to the big ol' plastic ball of death, all the "highly recommended, must have's" from the breeder's list (I still have it).

and then CnH came into the picture...... ;)
 
I got into chins via my 10th grade biology teacher. I had moved 45 minutes away from "home" here in Lancaster, and he commuted daily for work from Lancaster, so we'd often talk about different things up this way. Well, I'd seen a chinchilla at That Pet Place, and was talking to him about them, and found out that he has chinchillas. We won't get into his set up, but let's just say he offered to give me a baby from him most recent litter, if I got the OK from my aunt and uncle. I got the OK, and he told me a bunch of stuff, which I thought was right. For the most part, it was. Dust baths, food, bigger cages, etc, and even gave me a larger cage than I initially had for her. But after getting my baby girl, I started looking into more stuff online, and stumbled across CnQ.

My teacher had prepared me for a majority of the personality, etc, so it was really what I expected. I just didn't expect that I'd have 7 four years later! :rofl:
 
Admittedly, Kokomo was a bit of an impulse buy from Petsmart, but he and Kenai have far exceeded our expectations. Just coming out of college, all we had been able to have were fish and a ham, so this was a huge "upgrade" for us, and seemed ideal since we still couldn't reasonably have a dog (still living in an apartment). I guess I was expecting something more along the lines of guinea pig personalities, as one of my childhood friends had guineas... but the boys have proven themselves to be so much more, with their intelligence, outrageous personalities, and of course cuteness. Kokomo is our little grumpy boy, often barking at us when we visit him in his cage, but he's all bark and no bite, so it's more endearing than anything. And Kenai is just a social little cuddlebug, so I'd say we've been very lucky. And I must say, caring for chins has actually been less work than our betta tanks - once you have everything you need, it's so simple!

As far as people dumping their chins, I think a lot of it has to do with the novelty wearing off and their long lifespan. Since we've only been chin parents for about 6 months, I'm not sure that it's quite sunken in that these little guys are going to be with us for another 10+ years, but I'm definitely looking forward to it - they're family to us.
 
I wanted one because they were so darn cute and soft! When I finally got Moche home it was so exciting. I used to sit at his cage for hours and talk and he'd sit on my hands and sleep. It was wonderful. Now the little turd steals my pens/papers/icecream or what ever I happen to have as I sit on the couch during play time. I didn't have any expectations and I'm totally in love with them. I want to get a whole rainbow. :) The only way I could give them up is due to accident or sickness and I could no longer care for them. Even then I'd rather starve than loose one of my little softs. Some people just don't have to capacity for strong emotional ties with animals...and people if you ask me. Anyone that hasn't owned and loved a pet just isn't right in the head...
 
I wanted some Chins after I worked at a local Zoo, in their education center. We had a couple of really good, really tame Chins who would do talks. They would happily sit and Snuffle about. One, a Black velvet called Tarzan was the love of my life. you would put your hand in front of him - and he's just calmly step on to come out and meet people. he was so chilled and patient (I was gutted when him and his son died in a tragic accident).

I knew therefore that the day to day care was simple, easy and that I could cope with it, no problems.

I did everything I could to get my parent's permission - after 7 years!!! They gave in and I brought my 2 baby boys home for my 25th birthday. (I continued to research all those years)

I did have a shock. working with and seeing a room full of sleepy chinchillas does not prepare you for how lively they are when awake...lol. I was fairly lucky with personalities. I have one big soft lump of a chin who can be handled quite well - he will sit and let you pick him up, cuddle him, carry him around. He's sooooo laid back - but he's a bit boring bless him (don't tell him I said that) as he likes the quiet life - food and sleep, that's about it. I had a lovely BV boy, which is always what I wanted and he was awesome. Kinda nervous, fidgity and very, very hyper. But he loved people and attention.
Sadly, my BV boy passed away in March - a combination of things meant he was overwhelmed. I was offered another BV boy from my breeder as a rehome; he's a chewer when stressed but he only chewed twice and then stopped within a week. His personality is just like my previous BV - other than rather than being nervous, he knows no fear..lol. and he wants to play with you all day everyday. He has a long run and rather than chilling out after, he starts begging to be out again.

These are the things I didn't expect. Such massive personalities. Although I was aware of the level of poop production - I was suprised to find that it gets everywhere.
 
It's defenetly not what I expected. I was an hedgie owner that lurked on the chin site and I knew a couple of things about chin, but the basics mainly. When my ex "suprised me" on night with a chin he save from going to the SPCA, I wasn't that trilled. I wanted to give him up to someone that knew them at first. But I ended up saying ok let's keep him.

I didn't knew he would be that shy and difficult to catch. I also didn't expected the mess he makes every night around his cage and how exausting cleaning is. I didn't knew that 17-18C was THAT cold, I was always freezing in his room (computer room). And I never predicted I would be alergic to dust and wood shavings.

Yes there where a lot of downside, but when he jumps on me, I kinda forget about this. I'm sad he's not with me anymore, but I'm a bit relieved I'm not involved in taking care of him/his cage anymore.
 
We stumbled upon our first chinchilla at a mom & pop pet store. My husband and daughter saw him when they were checking out the new store in town and he said "absolutely not." I went back a few days later to take a look and was smitten. We brought him home, a beautiful hetero beige and my daughter fell asleep on the couch with him. I didn't realize she had him out of the cage. He just sat there with her for about 2 hours lounging. He was so calm. Shortly after, my husband came home with another one from Petsmart. A beautiful standard. They were the best chins in the world. We read the basic stuff -- nothing about breeding though we weren't planning on breeding. Famous last words. Several months later, we found a baby in the cage. Before we could learn enough about the process, she ended up pregnant again. We had one beautiful, amazing beige male kit with the first litter and two females the 2nd litter. Unfortunately, they got a chill and the little beige girl stopped breathing 3 times. We cleared her lungs and brought her back with CPR all 3 times. The 2nd girl, a standard, developed pneumonia and passed away. Sometime after the baby was weaned, our mama chin managed to open her cage and got out while the dog was inside. I won't go into details, but we were heartbroken. Last year, our dad got an upper respitory infection and after a week at the vet, succumbed to the illness. Again, devestation. The baby girl managed to live for 2 years, but always had problems with URI. Losing a chin isn't like losing a hamster or a mouse. They're like dogs; I felt like my dog had died with each one.

So here we are, almost 5 years after our very first chin. We got a crash course in what to do and what not to do but paid attention to all the details. We did things the right way after that; we got two beautiful chins from a breeder and we recently had two beautiful baby girls that are healthy and thriving. In my 5 short years with chinchillas, I have witnessed birth, death, have hand fed babies, suctioned noses, given medicine injections and oxygen and spent many sleepless nights with sick chins -- just about anything you can imagine. We now have a total of 5 -- we added another Petsmart chin that I had to have -- actually, I felt I needed to rescue her. She looked terrified and was cowering in the cage, so she went home with me. We've had her for about a year now -- she's still a little skiddish, but she's come a long way. When we got her, she wouldn't let anybody touch her. She was so stressed out, fur would fly all over the place. She was a little mean, probably because she was so scared. Now, she actually comes up to the cage to greet us, will try to climb out when we open the door and isn't mean anymore.

With all that has happened, I wouldn't change my decision to buy that first chin. They have given me happiness, LOL, have definitely educated me and provided me with love and companionship. As I recall, I once read some literature suggesting that chins didn't have personalities and they were incapable of really "knowing" their owners or behaving like a cat or a dog ("real" pets, LOL). I don't remember where I read it because I know that it was hogwash. When I leave for work in the morning, my chins are standing on their hind legs to greet me when I come over to their cages, noses sticking out through the slats for a scratch.

So the burning question is, is it worth it? Was I expecting all of this? Would I do it again? YES it is worth it, No, I wasn't expecting everything that has happened, but we took everything one day at a time. Each time we learned what to do and what not to do. I would totally do it again -- in a heartbeat. And actually, I plan on it!
 
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